CITATIONSHARES RELAUNCHES AS "CITATIONAIR BY CESSNA"

10/9/2009

GREENWICH, Conn., October 9, 2009—CitationAir by Cessna, formerly CitationShares, revealed its newly evolved business model, branding and value proposition today, after a decade of expanding its range of services beyond the fractional share ownership model. The new positioning and evolved business model reflect the changing needs of private aviation customers and strengthen the alignment with Cessna, one of the most iconic names in private aviation that holds majority ownership and control over CitationAir.

“This change is necessary because our customers have evolved, and so must we,” said Steve O’Neill, the company’s CEO. “The private jet industry is facing enormous pressures right now, and in order to thrive, we must ensure our business model remains viable and our sales and marketing efforts are leveraging all of our points of difference.

CitationAir’s unique selling and operational models successfully overcome the flaws inherent in traditional fractional models by reducing high capital costs and outside charter, addressing the lack of differentiated pricing for peak travel, and mitigating the liquidity issues caused by share buy-backs. The result is a robust product portfolio, supported by one operational platform, serviced through a single relationship with one company.

To simplify the company’s offerings for customers, the new branding is designed to unify all of the company’s products and services under a single brand: CitationAir. The new lineup will now include the company name with each product: CitationAir Jet Card, CitationAir Jet Shares, CitationAir Jet Management, and CitationAir Corporate Solutions. Additionally, CitationAir introduced a new tagline - “Where You Belong” – driven largely from the feeling customers said they experienced when flying with the company.

“The new architecture recognizes that customers choose us for who we are and what we deliver,” said Woody Harford, SVP, Chief Revenue Officer of CitationAir. “We are known for our focus on safety, unmatched personal service, simplicity, and customized products that meet customer needs. We truly focus on the complete end-to-end experience."

Not only is CitationAir now better positioned to communicate its core value proposition, but the new branding also strengthens its relationship with Cessna.

“CitationShares—and now CitationAir—has shown consistent growth, innovation and passion for serving our customers. More aggressively promoting Cessna’s ownership of CitationAir allows us to better communicate that Cessna offers the full range of transportation solutions, ranging from Jet Cards and Jet Shares, all the way through to whole aircraft ownership”, said Jack Pelton, Chairman, President and CEO of Cessna.

CitationAir began the process of rebranding in late 2008, and sought the help of several outside partners. CitationAir selected Seattle’s Hornall Anderson Design Works to accomplish the basic rebranding including name, logo and core brand attributes, Ryan iDirect to design the new website, collateral and customer communications, and Optimedia for media planning and buying.

“The complex process of rebranding is best undertaken with good partners,” said CRO Harford, “and the results show that we have worked successfully with some of the best.”

For more information, please visit CitationAir’s new, simplified and user-friendly website at www.citationair.com.

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About CitationAir
Founded in 2000, CitationAir is an industry leader offering individuals and businesses the advantages of private jet travel through its innovative programs, including Jet Card, Jet Shares, Jet Management and Corporate Solutions products. CitationAir flies Cessna’s popular Citation aircraft exclusively—the Citation Bravo, Citation CJ3, Citation XLS, and Citation Sovereign—which are serviced and maintained at the factory-level. CitationAir operates the youngest fleet in the air by the best pilots in the industry, while setting the standard for safety and unparalleled customer service. CitationAir is majority owned and controlled by Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron (NYSE: TXT) company. More information about CitationAir and its offerings are available at www.citationair.com.

About Cessna Aircraft Company
Based on unit sales, Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron (NYSE: TXT) company, is the world's largest manufacturer of general aviation airplanes. In 2008, Cessna delivered 1,301 aircraft, including 467 Citation business jets, and reported revenues of about $5.662 billion. Since the company was originally established in 1927, some 192,000 Cessna airplanes have been delivered around the world, including more than 6,000 Citations, making it the largest fleet of business jets in the world. More information about Cessna Aircraft Company is available at http://www.cessna.com.

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